Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, '' Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963.

Early life

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, Hanley began his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

before becoming popular in juvenile roles. He was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teenage years and earned film stardom as a "boy-next-door" type. The young actor attended the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...

and whilst he was studying there, made his stage debut at age 12 at the London Palladium, as John Darling in ''Peter Pan''. He began to make films in his teens.

Career

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as an officer with the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

, and in a commando raid in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

he was wounded in the leg and was invalided out of the service. He returned to films, including '' Salute John Citizen'' (1942), '' Henry V'' with Laurence Olivier (1944), '' For You Alone'' (1945) and the Huggetts films. He later worked on radio and TV, appearing in several television series and hosting the ITV series '' Jim's Inn'' from 1957 to 1963, which combined advertising messages with the plot of a

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, where he and his wife Maggie played the hosts of a pub where customers discussed bargains and new products whilst drinking. The series finished when advertising magazine programmes were banned.

Personal life

Hanley was married twice: * Dinah Sheridan 1942–1952 three children, including Jenny Hanley and the Conservative politician Sir Jeremy Hanley. The third died in infancy. * Margaret Avery (1955–1970, three daughters: Jane, Sarah and Katy) Hanley died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in Fetcham,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, on 13 January 1970, at the age of 51.

Selected filmography

* '' Red Wagon'' (1933) - Young Joe Prince * '' Those Were the Days'' (1933) - Boy with bicycle (uncredited) * '' Little Friend'' (1934) - Leonard Parry * '' Wild Boy'' (1934) - Boy With Message (uncredited) * '' Royal Cavalcade'' (1935) - Newsboy * '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935) - Cyril Brown * '' Brown on Resolution'' (1935) - Ginger * '' The Tunnel'' (1935) - Geoffrey McAllan * ''

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

'' (1937) - Jimmy Haddon * '' Cotton Queen'' (1937) - Jack Owen (uncredited) * '' Night Ride'' (1937) - Dick Benson * '' Housemaster'' (1938) - Travers * ''

Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

'' (1938) - Arthur Strudwick * '' There Ain't No Justice'' (1939) - Tommy Mutch * '' Gaslight'' (1940) - Cobb * '' Salute John Citizen'' (1942) - Ernest Bunting * '' The Gentle Sex'' (1943) - 1st Soldier * '' The Way Ahead'' (1944) - Pte. Geoffrey Stainer * '' Henry V'' (1944) - Williams - Soldier in the English Army * '' Kiss the Bride Goodbye'' (1945) - Jack Fowler * '' 29 Acacia Avenue'' (1945) - Peter Robinson * '' For You Alone'' (1945) - Dennis Britton * '' Murder in Reverse?'' (1945) - Peter Rogers * '' The Captive Heart'' (1946) - Pte. Mathews * '' Holiday Camp'' (1947) - Jimmy Gardner * '' Master of Bankdam'' (1947) - Simeon Crowther Jr. * '' It Always Rains on Sunday'' (1947) - Whitey * ''Nothing Venture'' (1948) - Introduction to serial version * '' It's Hard to Be Good'' (1947) - Captain James Gladstone Wedge VC * '' Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948) - Jimmy Gardner * '' The Huggetts Abroad'' (1949) - Jimmy Gardner * '' Don't Ever Leave Me'' (1949) - Jack Denton * '' Boys in Brown'' (1949) - Bill Foster * '' The Blue Lamp'' (1950) - PC Andy Mitchell * '' Room to Let'' (1950) - Curly Minter * '' The Galloping Major'' (1951) - Bill Collins, Bus Driver * '' Radio Cab Murder'' (1954) - Fred Martin * '' Views on Trial'' (1954) - Nicholas Diabolus/Garble/Budgenot/foreman/machinist * '' The Black Rider'' (1954) - Jerry Marsh * '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (1955) - Dicer Durston * '' Satellite in the Sky'' (1956) - Larry * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) - Patrick, the Bartender

Television series

* '' Jim's Inn'' (1957–1963, ITV advertising programme) - host * '' Five O'Clock Club'' (1963–1966, ITV children's programme) - host * ''Futurama'' (1964, ITV children's science programme) - host * '' Crossroads'' (1966, ITV soap) - Jimmy Gudgeon, old friend of central character Meg Richardson (played by Noele Gordon)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Jimmy 1918 births 1970 deaths King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors British Army personnel of World War II British Army Commandos officers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in England Military personnel from Norwich Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts